Farmers co-operative of Kottayam are planning to open coffee shops all over the country. Organic beans from virgin plantations will be used to prepare premium organic coffee.
Manarcadu Social Service Society (Mass) will open its first coffee shop Cafe de Monde, in Kochi, in a few months. It will later expand in other towns of Kerala.
Apart from coffee, Mass is also planning to use this cafe chain as a platform to sell organic fruits and vegetables cultivated by them. This will be resourceful as the facilities at present are limited for exporting processed fruits or vegetables.
Mass was formed in 2001, it has more than 5000 farmers who harvest in around 3100 hectare land sprawling over 18 villages. It produces coffee, cocoa and spices and export them to Europe through the company Plantrich Agritech Pvt. Ltd.
The association grows 4000 tonnes spices, 6500 tonnes cocoa, 2600 tonnes coffee and 1870 tonnes fruits annually. It also produces organic coffee in Tamil Nadu.
“The organic products sales are growing by 20 per cent annually. Though coffee prices are currently ruling low we get better prices for the organic coffee so that we are able to pay the farmers well,” President of Mass, Bijumon Kurian, was quoted by The Economic times in saying. Further to this quote, Kurian says, the organic food market in India is at a nascent stage but the awareness about such products is growing.
Mass is planning to establish an international sustainable academy for fair-trade and organic farming in Idukki and promote it all over the country.
